Chapter 17: Seeing is Believing
"What is that thing?" The Seer asked, "I've never seen that card before." He sounded concerned about the card Maximus drew.
"Hold on a second." Maximus bellowed, "I thought you knew everything. I thought you were supposed to be able to read the future ahead of time. Surely then you should have know what I just drew. Don't worry though. I'll give you a proper introduction. Seer, say hello to my new friend Chiron the Mage!!!"
Maximus laid his card down on the edge of his blade and forth onto the field came a beast with the head and torso of a man but the body and legs of a horse. It had on a steel breastplate and a steel helmet. In its hand Chiron held a long wooden staff with a large red crystal sphere on the end. Chiron bucked up on his hind legs and shouted a loud battle cry. He had 1800 Attack points.
"Chiron, destroy Mind on Air! Heavy Stampede!" Maximus shouted.
Chiron raised his staff and began to charge at full speed towards The Seer's Mind on Air. When Chiron was within striking range he swung his staff, blunt end first and The Seer's Creature, striking it directly in the head and shattering it. As Mind on Air shattered, the card images above Maximus's head disappeared. And The Seer could no longer see Maximus's hand. Maximus then began to shuffle around the cards in his hand to throw The Seer off even further.
"Well! That's one less opening you have to predict my moves." Maximus said, "And now to eliminate another obstacle in my way. I shall now activate Chiron's Special Ability. At the cost of discarding one magic card from my hand I can destroy one magic or trap card on the field. Looks like your Light of Intervention is about to fade away into the darkness."
Maximus discarded his Level Up! Magic Card to the Graveyard. Once it hit the Graveyard, the crystal on the end of Chiron's staff began to glow a deep red. He pointed his staff at The Seer's Light of Intervention Trap and fired a red energy blast that shattered the card on impact. The Seer groaned in frustration
"No! This cannot be!" The Seer screamed, "I cannot see what he's got anymore!"
Maximus smiled, "Well now! Well now! I guess you're not able to see the future like you used to. Now that I have ways to hide my moves and plans I think this duel has begun to turn my way. I'll end my turn. Come on Seer. Let's see what you can do this time."
The Seer drew his card in anger. "That's it Maximus!! Game time is over; it's time to make you suffer!" He shouted. "First I'll activate my Dust Tornado on your Sakuretsu Armor." The Seer's card releases a cyclone that swallowed up and destroyed Maximus's face down Sakuretsu Armor. "Next I'll use Premature Burial to revive my Stone Statue." The Seer's Life Points dropped to 6200 and his statue emerged from the floor. "Now I shall sacrifice my Man with Wdjat and my statue to summon my most powerful creature, my Mystical Knight of Jackal!"
The two creatures faded out of sight and a large blade appeared in the air, cutting through the air itself. The blade made a large slit in the air and out of this slit stepped a large beast with ancient Egyptian style armor and headdress. Long punching daggers were strapped to its arms. It stood up on its legs as if it were a human. This beast had 2700 Attack Points.
The Seer laughed with confidence, "And now little Maximus, I shall unleash upon you the power of my Jackal. Attack his Marauding Captain!!" The Seer shouted.
His Jackal ran forward towards Maximus's Captain and delivered a devastating punch directly to the chest. The Captain clutched his chest, fell to one knee and shattered. Maximus lost 1100 Life Points, leaving him with 3000. As his Life Points, fell the light began to burn his eyes with even more intensity. It had reached a point where Maximus had to close his eyes every several seconds to numb the pain. He was blinded enough that he could not see a twinkle of light appear in his deck reader.
"You've lost 1100 Life Points and your Captain was destroyed." The Seer bellowed. "And as a bonus, whenever Mystical Knight of Jackal destroys a monster in battle, I am allowed to return it to the top of my opponent's deck. Now that I know what you shall draw next, I need not fear your plans. But I'll set this card face down anyway, just to be safe."
"Ahhhhh," Maximus grunted as his eyes burned. He drew, and saw the same Marauding Captain that was just destroyed. "I think I have an idea. I can finally summon out a Swordsman." Maximus thought to himself, "Thank you Seer!!" Maximus proclaimed, "I can finally summon my Mystic Swordsman. I summon My Marauding Captain and use his ability to Special Summon Mystic Swordsman Level 4!"
Maximus's Captain reappeared and at his side appeared the Lever 4 version of Mystic Swordsman. His Double-Bladed Sword glowed and his attack power jumped from 1900 to 2300 thanks to Command Knight's effect.
"Now I'll use my Book of Moon to flip your Jackal Face down."
As Maximus's card activated and the magic book spread its magic upon The Seer's Jackal, The Seer sprung into action.
'Thought you'd try that. So I play Threatening Roar! This will prevent you from attacking me this turn."
Maximus didn't seem phased. "That's fine with me." He said, "I can wait a turn to finish off your Jackal. I'll just set this card down for now. OK Seer, do your worst!"
"I shall do just that." The Seer said. "First I'll flip my Jackal back into attack Mode." The Seer flipped up his monster and in a shower of light Mystical Knight of Jackal was back on the field. "Now to eliminate that little Captain of yours and further blind you. My Jackal has 2700 Attack Points and nothing you have can stand against it! Mystical Knight of Jackal, attack his Marauding Captain with Punishing Fist!" His Jackal once again threw a punch at Maximus's Marauding Captain.
Maximus only grinned. "I can't believe it! You honestly did not see this coming." Maximus half-jokingly said, Activate trap, Windstorm of Etaqua!"
The Seer was stunned. "What! What is that?? What does it do?" he asked in a panic as a flock of crows appeared on Maximus's field and beat their wings rapidly, forcing Mystical Knight of Jackal into a defensive stance.
"Allow me to explain. Windstorm of Etaqua forces all face up monsters my opponent controls to switch battle positions. So your Jackal is now in defense mode. And I just noticed that he only has 1200 Defense Points. Funny, you told me I had nothing that could defeat your Jackal." Maximus said.
The Seer began to grow angry. "You want to play games with me!! I'll fix you good. I'll set one card face down and set one monster in defense mode. Go ahead and attack me if you dare!"
Maximus smiled confidently. He knew that he had turned the tables on The Seer. Since he could not see Maximus's hand or field, he was ill prepared to counteract Maximus's moves.
"I don't know what that face down card is, and I don't trust it. I'll use Chiron's Ability once again. I'll discard my Offerings to the Doomed Magic Card to destroy it."
Maximus dropped his card and Chiron released another blast from his staff, destroying The Seer's face down trap card, Mirror Force.
"No! You can't do this!" The Seer shouted
'Funny, I can and I AM doing this." Maximus said. "Now, Mystic Swordsman attack his Jackal!"
Maximus's Swordsman jumped forward and swung one end of his sword and plunged it deep into The Jackal's heart. The Seer's Jackal snapped backwards as the blade pierced through all the way and exited out its back. Finally the Jackal was destroyed. Maximus's Swordsman jumped back to position and began to glow.
"Now, I'll have Chiron attack your face down monster." Maximus shouted.
His Mage charged forward and swung its staff at The Seer's face down monster. It flipped up and a second Stone Statue of the Aztecs was revealed. Its 2000 Defense Points withstood Chiron's attack. Chiron's staff bounced off the side of the Statue and sent shockwaves through Maximus's body. His Life Points dropped to 2600 and the light got even more painful for him.
"Arrrrgh!! My Eyes!" Maximus shouted, "Another blasted Statue. No matter. I now end my turn. Now my Swordsman may grow and become Level 6!"
Maximus's Swordsman snapped his double bladed sword in two, and he grew up to Level 6 form. His Attack Power jumped to 2700.
The Seer drew. "Well, it seems I'm not in such bad shape as you think I am Maximus." He bellowed, "I activate Snatch Steal! This shall let me assume control of your precious Mystic Swordsman."
A pair of hands materialized and grabbed Mystic Swordsman and pulled him over to The Seer's field. When it reached The Seer's side, his attack strength fell back to 2300 because Command Knight could no longer power it up.
"Now your own Swordsman shall destroy your little Chiron. Attack!"
Mystic Swordsman Level 6 ran forward and did a spinning slash with his swords cutting Chiron at the chest and knees. Chiron shattered into pieces. Maximus lost another 500 Life Points. With only 2100 remaining, he could not keep his eyes open for more than five seconds at a time with out the light burning him too greatly.
"Next I shall sacrifice my Statue to set this card in defense mode. Go Ahead Maximus." The Seer said, "I can see once again. You are afraid. I have turned your beloved swordsman against you and you are slowly but surely going to lose this duel and your vision. If I were you, I'd make my last vision something sweet to carry you through the long days ahead of you as a blind man. I suggest you make it of your precious Mary."
Maximus's eyes glowed a dark brown, almost black color. "All right you sick, twisted, piece of garbage." He said slowly and fiercely. "Nobody drags my sister into something this evil. Do you hear me? NOBODY!!! I draw. And thinks to your Snatch Steal, I gain 1000 Life Points." Maximus's Life Points increased to 3100; the light faded a bit from his eyes. He could once again open them for an extended period, but he still had to squint to see. "I'll set this monster face down, and activate Book of Taiyou to flip it face up."
The Magical Book of Taiyou appeared over Maximus's face down monster and shone a bright orange sunlight upon it, revealing a young female magician. This was the Magician of Faith.
'As you know, Magician of Faith lets me take back a Magic Card from my Graveyard when flipped face-up." Maximus began. "So I'll take back and play my Pot of Greed." Maximus drew his two cards and looked up towards the ceiling. "Mary, this one's for you. I love you." He said to himself. "First I'll switch my Command Knight to Attack Mode, and then I'll activate Mystical Space Typhoon on Snatch Steal and take back my Swordsman!" Maximus's card activated and released a swirling storm at the hands holding onto Mystic Swordsman. The hands were shattered and Mystic Swordsman Level 6 jumped back to Maximus's field, and his swords glowed red as Command Knight once again powered up its strength to 2700.
"No! No! No!" The Seer shouted, "This is going to hurt."
"For once, I actually agree with your prediction." Maximus jokingly answered back. "Mystic Swordsman Level 6, Give his face down monster a dose of the Umbral Energy Blast."
At this command, Mystic Swordsman raised his swords over his head in an "X" shape. They glowed with black energy. The Swordsman then swung the blades downward and shot an energy wave that destroyed The Seer's face down monster, another Mind on Air, instantly upon impact.
"Now I'll have my Command Knight, Marauding Captain and Magician of Faith attack you directly." Maximus shouted.
Command Knight went first. She jumped forward raised her broadsword up and delivered a slash across The Seer's chest, stripping 1600 Life Points from him. Marauding Captain was next. He ran forward and delivered a double slash with each of his swords that took another 1600 Life Points from the Seer. He writhed in pain from the two hits and the light began to burn his eyes. Finally Magician of Faith jumped forward and delivered a swipe of her staff that took away 300 Life Points. The Seer was now down to 2700 Life Points. His eyes burned with bright light and his body was in considerable pain from the attacks. He, like Maximus did before him failed to see a twinkle of lights on top of his deck. Maximus then smiled confidently again and looked at The Seer.
"Say, do you remember that little vision I showed you earlier?" Maximus half-jokingly asked. "I guess I'm better at predicting the future than I thought. Look at my field Seer. It is exactly as I showed you it would be.
The Seer looked at Maximus's 4 monsters and froze with fear. He had no cards down on the field, and none left in his hand. He could not believe that Maximus was not only, near victory but also in the exact manner that Maximus showed him earlier in a vision.
"No! It can't be!" The Seer screamed. How is it possible that you could read the future?
"This is what you get for dragging my sister into this battle." Maximus shouted, "This is between me and you, Mary has nothing to do with this. The good news is my turn is over; the bad news is I can tell you right now that the card you draw will not help you.
"We'll see about that." The Seer shouted as he drew. It was the exact same card Maximus destroyed with his Swordsman, Mind on Air. And since it required a sacrifice to summon, The Seer was completely out of options.
"This cannot be!" The Seer screamed, "How did you do this?"
"Your Jackal is not the only creature that can return a monster destroyed to the top of an opponent's deck." Maximus said, "At his Level 6 form, my Mystic Swordsman his that ability as well. As from the looks of things, I'd say that you're just about out of options. It's time to end this…
Please Maximus, I beg of you. No!" The Seer dropped to his knees and pleaded for mercy. Maximus would hear none of this.
"You should have thought about this before mentioning my sister. Mystic Swordsman, put an end to this now!" Maximus gave the order.
Mystic Swordsman Level 6 jumped forward, performing a double front somersault in mid-air. As he descended from his jump, he took his swords, held them parallel and swung downward slashing The Seer from head to toe. The slash removed all 2700 of The Seer's remaining Life Points. His score reached zero. At this exact moment, the light in Maximus's eyes faded away and he could see normally again. The Seer tried to cover his eyes up from the flash but it was no use. He saw a brilliant flash of light, like a star exploding in a supernova. He instantly fell backwards screaming out in pain and clutching his face.
"AHHHHHHH!!! My eyes!!! MY EYES!!!!" The now blind Seer screamed. "I cannot see. Everything is pitch black."
Maximus gathered up his cards and folded up his blade and placed it back in its scabbard. He held his deck up in his hand with the cards fanned out. He pulled out Chiron the Mage and kissed it.
"Thank you Chiron." He said, "I could not have done this with out you."
He then put his deck back into the box on his hip and walked up to The Seer. He pulled him around onto his back. Maximus straddled him and raised up his fist as if to beat The Seer to death. Maximus was still full of intense fury for having his sister dragged into this duel.
"I ought to kill you right now." Maximus angrily said. "Don't you EVER, mention my sister's name again. Do you hear me, EVER!!!?"
The Seer cut him off "Please don't hurt me. I'll tell you everything you need to know. Please just spare my life. It wasn't my doing. Lord Set, Lord Set told me everything. He told me that you had a sister named Mary and you loved her very much. He told me about your friends, Yugi, Joey, Sean and Mathias. Everything I told you I 'Saw' I was merely told by Set and was instructed to use against you to mess with your mind. I'm a fraud! I admit that and now I shall spend the rest of my life in total darkness. Please, don't hurt me anymore. Let me live I beg of you."
Maximus's anger subsided. It was as if some form of compassion had taken over his thinking. He lowered his fist calmly.
"All right. I shall show you mercy. I will spare your life. But first I want to know how to get out of here." He said
The Seer reached for a pendant around his neck. He took it off and handed it to Maximus.
"Here. Take this. It is the key to the door on the wall." He said. "If you look on the wall hard enough you will find an opening to insert this key. The pathway leads to the upper chambers. It's how I entered this chamber. You should not have much trouble navigating through the passageway.
"If you are lying to me. I will come find you and kill you myself." Maximus said.
He got up off of The Seer and walked towards the wall. In one corner he found a small keyhole. He inserted the key The Seer gave him and turned it. A wall panel rose up and revealed a passageway. Maximus then cautiously made his way out of the chamber and into the long torch-lit tunnel. As he continued, something occurred to him.
"He mentioned the Chaos Realm." He thought to himself, "I'd better find Mathias; he needs to know about this."